Baron Lajos Dóczi, aka Dóczy (Hungarian: Dóczi Lajos, báró, German: Ludwig (Louis) Dóczy (born "Dux"), 29/30 November 1845, Sopron (Oedenburg) - 28 August 1918, Budapest) was a Jewish (later Christian) Hungarian poet, journalist. His father, Adolf Dux, was a wine trader, and is not to be confused with the writer of the same name, Adolf Dux.
After finishing his preliminary education he studied law in Vienna, joining at the same time the staff of Die Presse. His political articles, which advocated the "Ausgleich" (agreement) with Austria, were very favorably received, and on the recommendation of Balthasar Horváth, then Minister of Justice, he was appointed (1868) clerk in the office of the prime minister.
When Count Julius Andrássy became minister of foreign affairs (1872) Dóczy accompanied him to Vienna, and was soon appointed "Sectionsrath", and later "Hofrath", at the Foreign Office. In 1899 he was elevated to the rank of baron, and in 1902 retired from public life. He resided in Deutschkreutz and Budapest.
Dóczy's reputation rests not on the services he rendered to the state, but on his achievements as a dramatic writer and as a translator. Csók (The Kiss), his best-known comedy, which is played in German as well as in Hungarian theaters, gained the prize of the Hungarian Academy in 1871; the German translation was made by the author himself.
Among his other plays are:
- Utolsó Szerelem (Last Love), 1879
- Széchy Mária, 1886
- Vegyes: Párok (Mixed Marriages), 1889
- Vera Grófnő, 1891
- Ellinor Királyleány, tragedy, 1897
Besides these he translated Schauffert's comedy Schach dem König, 1873, and wrote the libretto to Karl Goldmark's Merlin and to Johann Strauss II.'s Ritter Pázmán.
His Hungarian translation of Goethe's Faust and his German adaptation of Imre Madách's Az ember tragédiája (German: Die Tragödie des Menschen) were well received. His collected poems and novels appeared in 1890. His last work was a Hungarian translation of Schiller's poems (1902).
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References
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "Ludwig Dóczy (Dux)". The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. This article is by Isidore Singer and Ludwig Venetianer and in turn cites:
- József Szinnyei (hu), Magyar Irók Élete (), s.v.
- . Encyclopedia Americana. 1920.